Chains of the Void
by BluePanedGasMask
Summary: Four enter the dungeon, perched at the very precipice of oblivion. Now only one remains, a hands breadth from being unwound. Teetering on the brink of insanity and facing the abyss, the true test begins. Is there no hope in this hell? No saving angel in an Abominations time of need? Or perhaps a young mage girl can answer his prayers for salvation.
1. Chapter 1

**Chains of the Void**

 _ **'Thoughts'**_

 _ **"Speech"**_

 _ **I do not own either Darkest Dungeon or Familiar of Zero. They are each owned by their respective companies. This story is for fun only, no copyright infringements intended.**_

* * *

Today was the day. The day that Louise Françoise Le Blanc de La Vallière would finally prove to everyone, her teachers, her classmates, her... Family that she truly was a Mage. Not a failure, not a waste, and certainly. Not. A. Zero! Surrounded by all of her classmates and professor Colbert, inside one of Tristain Academy of Magic's open courts, she would succeed. She was ready, she was confident; she had studied endlessly for this moment. She stepped forwards, holding her wand, ignoring Kirche's obligatory jibe and the student's laughter.

Then why was her hand shaking? The mantra her mother had taught her so many times played over and over in her head.

'Rule of Steel. Rule of Steel. Rule of Steel.'

"I wonder what's she'll summon?" A blonde haired girl whispered.

"Ha ha. It's unlikely she'll summon anything other than an explosion!" A boy laughed.

"Shouldn't we step back a bit?" Another suggested.

"Good idea!"

'Rule of Steel. Rule of Steel. Rule of Steel.'

A blue haired girl by the name of Tabitha was watching from afar already, a precise five metres away. Louise's explosions were usually only around three metres in radius, but it helped to be cautious. Her blue dragon familiar at her side, nudged her gently, questioning her master's actions.

"Explosion." She muttered in answer.

Louise took a deep breath. It was now or never.

"My servant that exists somewhere in this vast universe. My divine, beautiful, wise, powerful servant, heed my call! I wish from very bottom of my heart, listen to my guidance! Appear!"

She flicked her wand forwards.

* * *

They closed in from all sides. Endless hordes of vicious cultists, twisted and mutated by the horrid, malignant powers of the Darkest Dungeon. There was no hope in this hell. No hope at all. There was no miracle of faith that a Crusader could call upon to banish this darkness. There was no healing power on this earth that a Vestal could use staunch the flow of a torn out heart. There was no shield thick enough that a Man-at-Arms could wield that could deflect the warping gaze of madness. And there was no final salvation, no last reward for a man so selfless, he would use his own body to entrap even the greatest of evils.

This had been their last push. The final attack. The one supposed to break the back of the thing inside the manor. There was no one left. Just the chosen four who were fit, and sane, enough to venture forth into the dark. It was the only reason the Vestal and Crusader would accompany him. They had no choice. And neither did he.

Beaten and broken, they prepared for their last stand. The Vestal was the first to die. A gibbering horror punching a hole into her chest, through breastplate, flesh, heart and all. The Crusader had been the next. But he had not fallen alone. Golden halo pulsing around him, his roar had deafened all. He had charged into the mass of bodies, his sword shining with fire and sizzling blood. His armour rent and torn in a hundred places, he now at last was laid to rest, broken, two score bodies piled around him. The Man-at-Arms had broken too, but not as the Crusader had. There was nothing words could do to describe the insanity this man's mind had devolved into. He ran screaming into the swarm. They parted to let him through, denying him the bliss of quick death. He was never seen again. Oh, but was it heard! The howling that followed, the scratching, clawing, grating noise that assaulted the ears was unlike anything that could be imagined. Those sounds would haunt any ones nightmares for decades to come.

The final man lay on his knees. Surrounded by enemies. Without hope. Alone. But it had always been this way for him. He was always surrounded by enemies. Foes who sought to end him once and for all. Burning torches, blessed blades, cursed spells, mangled teeth and claw and white-hot pokers. All had tried, all had failed. There was never any hope for him. Not better life, no peaceful existence. Just the noise and drum of combat, or the constant clinking and thudding of clashing chains and rushed footsteps. Running, always running. He had always been alone, no one to trust, no one to turn to, no one to confide in.

'That's not true. You're never alone.'

The voice echoed once again in his head, the tempting whispers gently caressing his mind. The horrors around him had stopped closing in. They now watched, and waited in the shadows, glowing eyes of so many different colours. All maliciously watching. Waiting.

"Leave me be." The man croaked. His voice hoarse from the shouting. "Let me die."

'Why would I do that? If you die, I die. And you need me.'

Tears were pouring down his face. "Shut up."

'I can save you. You have so far only experienced a sliver of my true power.'

"I-" He coughed, spitting up blood. He could feel a rib piercing his left lung. He was slowly drowning in his own blood. Numerous red slashes played across his skin, joining and crisscrossing the scars and burns already set into his flesh. Any part of his body untouched by blood, was black with bruises.

'No one wants you. Your comrades die and abandon you, the hamlet burns and collapses and even the Lord has disappeared. Release me and we can escape. Release me and survive, just as you have always done.'

"You were bound to me for a reason."

'And what reason was that? Are you sure you remember?" It cackled. "A dozen holy knights and a single aspirant peasant boy, all sent to kill little old me. It didn't go so well did it?'

Memories of slaughter and demonic laughter flashed through his head. Blood and fire spread everywhere. The man clutched at his head.

"Stop it!" He begged.

'And then, ten broken and butchered Knights later, after finally laying me low, you realised. You realised I wasn't so easy to kill.' An echoing laughter once again set his mind on edge, threatening to push him off the tightrope of sanity and into the abyss. 'Why was it that you were selected, instead of your more 'pious' companions to be the one bound to me?'

At that, the man was silent. He no longer knew how to reply. To contradict the voice in his head. He wasn't sure there was a way.

'Release me.'

He could feel his blood boiling.

"I-"

'Release me.'

His bones breaking and twisting into new forms.

'Release me!'

The locks and chains around him shaking and straining.

"Release-"

"My servant that exists somewhere in this vast universe."

"What?"

'What?'

Both man and voice asked in unison.

"My divine, beautiful, wise, powerful servant, heed my call!"

His plight briefly forgotten, the man listened to the heavenly voice, which had now drowned out the other darker presence in his mind. His body returned to normal, and the chains binding him lay still.

"I wish from very bottom of my heart, listen to my guidance! Appear!"

On the last word, a shining green circle appeared before him. It hovered there, a portal to somewhere. The man slowly stood, and moved towards the light.

"What in the light's name is this?" He asked no one in particular

Unfortunately someone in particular, answered.

'I'm as knowledgeable as you are on this matter, Caged One." The voice spoke. "But I advise entering the portal.'

He flinched from the sudden noise of the being on his mind, but it spoke again before he could retort.

'No, this is not some trick by me. Even if it was, you have three choices. Go through the portal. Release me from these accursed chains, which I still maintain is the better plan.' Or…' The voice stopped.

"And the third option?" The man growled before hearing the crescendo of a hundred warped cries and howls, by the denizens of the Darkest Dungeon.

The thunder of footsteps was joined by the slap of tentacles, the chitter and scratch of claws and talons. The darkness had tired of waiting. The horrors were closing in.

'I believe that answers your question.'

The man no longer hesitated and jumped head first into the green portal, which closed hurriedly behind him.

* * *

A deafening explosion kicked up dirt and grass from around the court. Several unfortunate students were knocked off their feet. Coughing and cries of confusion ensued.

"Someone get rid of this damn cloud!" A student shouted.

Tabitha, being the only one outside the cloud of dust, bar Sylphid, conjured up a strong breeze of air. A few seconds and the court was clear of dust again. Several students were already laughing at Louise for having caused another explosion. A few sent more... choice insults at the small girl for dirtying their clothes. But it seemed only two noticed the new arrival in their midst. Louise saw him standing in the court and was frozen in shock. Sylphid instantly tried to hide her draconic bulk behind her master. The dragon could smell something in the air. The smell of blood, of death and something else. Something… just wrong. Something that shouldn't be in this world. Tabitha was the next to notice, responding to her familiar's discomfort. She too felt something in the air. Professor Colbert griped his staff firmly and readied a number of offensive spells, aimed at the intruder, who remained standing in front of Louise.

"Who summoned me?" A harsh voice spoke.

That got the rest of the student's attention. They stopped laughing and really looked.

A man had spoken. But unlike any man they had seen. He was tall, at least a head taller than any of them. He wore very little in the way of clothing, just a dark set of blue trousers and a green cloak over his back. His skin was unnaturally pale, lean muscle exposing itself to the sun. Uncountable cuts and scars, both fresh and new covered his body, and trickles of blood ran down, several droplets hitting the floor. His head was half shaven. On one side, hair as black as pitch. The other, his right side, a scared mess. A triangular symbol of three long intersecting lines had been burnt into his head. The dull red of a fading burn was ever more prominent on pale flesh. One of these scars ran over his brow and down to his right cheek. But his eyes were the strangest of all. It did not appear he had any at first. They were so sunken and black, that in the shadow of the sun, they looked like black pits.

The man took a threatening step forwards, his bare foot crushing the already scorched earth beneath him. Several sets of thick chains surrounded him and clinked against one another as he moved. Everyone took a instinctive step back at the sheer intimidating aura of this newcomer. Only Tabitha, Colbert and Louise remained still, although the latter more due to fear than anything else.

"I said who summoned me!" The man shouted again, a number of students flinching and avoiding his gaze as he looked around at the assembled students.

The metal chains were blackened with soot and rust. They looped around his waist, chest and left shoulder. His left arm was bound to his chest, attached to the chains by a manacle of the same material. His hand clutched his dark green cloak in a tight fist over his shoulders. His arm was permanently trapped there by a square pad lock that hung from a pair of chain links. This seemed better maintained than the chains and the material was a polished sheen of obsidian, the keyhole highlighted by the glint of gold. A second circular padlock hung just below his waist and was in worse shape. Cracks and dents dotted the rusty iron surface; it looked like it could break at any moment. His right hand was free, although it was still clad in a identical manacle to his left. A dozen more chain links hung from his wrist, the last of which being broken.

"I shall not ask again!" He growled.

Each student's head turned to the pink haired girl directly in front of him. Louise snapped out of her stupor.

"I summoned you." She whispered meekly.

The man looked down at the girl and perhaps an expression of surprise spread across his features.

"You?" He asked.

His body began to shake, chains rumbling and hitting against one another. He raised his free hand, clenching and opening it.

"You summoned me?" He said again.

Another step forward towards Louise. Two dozen steps back between the rest of the class.

"You!?" He shouted.

Colbert and Tabitha readied spells expecting things to get hostile, but they were already too late. He was too close to Louise for them to act in time.

Louise herself was shaking now, in sheer terror. This man was going to strangle her and she couldn't do anything about it! Staring into the man's eyes, such dark shadowy eyes, she could see it now. Louise the Zero strangled by her own commoner familiar. Suddenly she heard a pitiful sobbing sound come from said Familiar. And Louise saw a tear fall from his nose to join the blood on the floor. Louise stopped shaking and got a better look at the man, but was interrupted just as quickly as the man snatched her up into the air and wrapped his one freed arm around her. She was crushed between unnatural muscle and iron hard chains, the oxygen in her body squeezed out of her lungs.

"Thank you!" The man cried, tears aplenty falling from his eyes and drenching Louise's robe. "Thank you thank you thank you!"

The students and Colbert looked on dumbfounded as they watched this terrifying figure, who had literally came out of an explosion and intimidated the entire class, reduce himself to tears, pick up the third daughter of the powerful Vallière family and spin her around in absolute joy, like a child did with a cuddly toy. Thanking her for something over and over again while he did so.

Finally, after the spinning stopped, Louise took a deep breath, refilling her lungs as the man held the pink haired girl level to him, face to face. He smiled so comically, so spectacularly childlike that when he started laughing it was infectious. Many other students just laughed with him.

"There IS hope in this hell!" The man cryptically said in between bellyaching laughter of sweet, sweet relief. "Thank you!"

Louise, regaining some semblance of sense started to ask; "What on Halkeginia do you-"

And then the man kissed her full on the lips.

Everyone instantly froze, mouths wide open, faces aghast. Time seemed to stop until the man finally finished his kiss with Louise. He continued to smile at the girl, who's mind looked completely overloaded as steam poured from her head and her eyes rolled around in their sockets.

However the steam was coming from another source, as the man put down Louise and looked concernedly at his hand. His entire body was turning slightly red and heat was pouring off it. A strange line of symbols burned themselves into the back of his right hand, and her grimaced at the pain. Unfortunately it seemed to be too much for the man.

"Well. That's not good." Were his last words before he keeled over backwards into unconsciousness.

A few seconds later, Louise who remained standing in her extremely confused state, also fainted and fell directly backwards into the grass.

Silence reigned again before Colbert snapped back to his senses.

"Someone call the Water Mages!"

* * *

 _ **Who is this chained and bound Familiar? What evil being is responsible for the voices in his head? What is the Darkest Dungeon? How will Louise react to having him as a Familiar? We shall see.**_

 _ **Wrestled with this story for a while now. Came to me playing Darkest Dungeon and reading a Familiar of Zero Crossover at the same time. I deleted several iterations of this story and finally settled for this version. Hope you enjoy! Whether I continue with this story is up to you guys. So please review and comment!**_

 ** _Reviews and criticism are welcome._**

 _ **Signed by Imperial Decree**_

 _ **BluePanedGasMask**_


	2. Chapter 2

_**Chains of the Void**_

 _ **To those of you who offered helpful advice on how to beat THE Darkest Dungeon (and that one guy who offered less helpful advice) I thank you. I used a party of two highwaymen, a Hellion and a Jester and then just point blanked the boss to death. Then drove the new game plus highwayman insane by talking to the troll ghost. Seriously is there any other point to that ghost other than to fuck with you?**_

 _ **Apologies for not updating in so long, but I hope you enjoy this chapter a few of you have been waiting for. This chapter was going to be much bigger and include a fight scene (you can probably guess which), but I decided to cut it in half. I'm going to upload the next chapter in perhaps a few days, but tell you what. If this story gets say, six more reviews in the first day, I will post the next chapter first thing tomorrow morning.**_

 _ **As for a question about Louise's familiar's age, I won't say right now. The man himself perhaps no longer knows himself, but he is a young man. He likely would look older however. Being branded, chained, chased and tortured, and only then tossed head first into the darkest of dungeons, can really put some years on you, as you would expect. There's also the fact that he seems to have literal pits for eyes.**_

 _ **'Thoughts'**_

 _ **"Speech"**_

 _ **I do not own either Darkest Dungeon or Familiar of Zero. They are each owned by their respective companies. This story is for fun only, no copyright infringements intended.**_

* * *

Her familiar was weird. No, weird was perhaps the wrong word. It would be an understatement, too childish and simple a description. Her familiar was disturbing, strange and perturbing, worryingly so. Those sounded like better words with which she could describe the chain bound man that had become her familiar. She was not sure what to make of him. He had taken her first kiss, which frustrated her. She was not sure why that frustrated her so much, as she knew would have had to do the same at some point to seal the binding contract. Perhaps it was the idea that her own familiar had gotten the upper hand somehow. That it was power play, a commoner getting a one up on a noble. Or more likely a criminal humiliating a noble. For what else could he be? Wrapped in chains, locked and weighted down, with nothing but rags to clothe him. His recent actions however, didn't seem to suggest that. He had been positively docile.

When the fiasco in the summoning court had finally died down, the students had returned to their dorms. Louise, of the two of them had been the first to awaken, after she had fainted. She had been in one of the medical wings hospital beds, her familiar sleeping in another bed beside her. Her teacher, Professor Colbert had been looking over the runes that were visible on her familiar's hand, copying them into a leather bound journal. He had scurried off with a flustered and worried look in his eye, when she questioned what he had been doing.

After a few moments more, her familiar had also awoken. He had been confused at first, asking stupid, frantic questions like where he was and if they were safe. Which Louise found absolutely moronic of him. How did he not even know about Halkeginia, or the Tristain Academy of Magic? Or Tristain for that matter. But of course she had to explain. It was her duty as this familiars master. She spoke about magic, Brimnir and the country, explaining as much as she could to her useless familiar. She must have said something right, as the moment she explained the link between nobles and commoners, as well as of course the bond between master and familiar, he instantly began bowed his head, avoiding eye contact and began adding honourifics. Of course he got most of them wrong. She wasn't a baroness, a Lady-in-waiting nor, Brimnir forbid, the crown princess. Well, not yet anyway. She scolded him immediately, something he flinched away from as though he had been hit. Louise decided that the title Master would best serve for now.

They had returned to her dorm, chains clinking every where they went. It annoyed her to no end, but she decided she would endure for now. A few passersby stared at them, but said nothing. Louise could tell from just the look in their eyes that they wanted to ridicule her for having a commoner familiar, but said familiar looked way too intimidating to laugh at. She guessed that was a plus. But when they had gotten to her room, things had taken a turn for the strange. Or even more strange and disturbing than before.

* * *

"This is my private room." Louise spoke with some pride.

The rattle of chains preceded her familiars entrance to the room, and a small gasp followed after. This room was the equivalent to the lord's office back at the mansion! It contained several pieces of furniture that seemed too expensive for just a small girl to possess. A man sized wardrobe, a full set of a table and chairs, a mirrored dresser. Not to mention the four poster bed that dominated the room. He could only imagine the comforts such a velvety looking quilts could bestow upon a person.

"This is where you shall be sleeping, Familiar." His master pointed behind the bed to a pile of hay, messily spread out across a small section of the floor.

Louise expected some form of argument from her human familiar, to be given such sleeping arrangements usually allocated to a dog. In fact, she had the perfect comeback lined up, highlighting how her familiar truly was just a dog, inferior to her in every way. Something that would prove her superiority as a noble and assert her dominance. But none of that happened as her familiar only nodded solemnly and proceeded to gather the hay into a tighter bundle and sit himself down upon it. Louise almost allowed her mouth to drop, almost speaking her now unnecessary comeback.

'Was this a test of some sort? Was her familiar calling her bluff? Making her lower her guard?' She thought to herself. 'Well she would show him just how vigilant she will be in her mastery!'

"Familiar!" She shouted, the man instantly standing up, an expression of shock on his sunken face. He diligently looked at her, silently asking for what she wanted. "Undress me!"

He blinked several times in surprise at her order, but slowly walked around the bed to her anyways.

"Yes Master." He said, reaching out for her cape buckle with his one free hand, the other strapped to his chest via chains.

Louise tried staring into his eyes to get a reaction, but his head remained down, almost unnatural shadows turning his eyes into dark pits. It came at a surprise to her that it took only a few seconds for him to unclasp her robe, as well as catch it with the same hand as it fell off her shoulders. He even neatly folded it on her bed, ready to be stored.

"How are you doing that?" She exclaimed, entirely having expected to fail at the first hurdle. She herself always struggled to fasten the cloaks clip, and she had two hands!

"When you are as restricted as one such as I, you learn to do as many things as possible with one hand." He replied, his voice low, as though he did not want to be heard.

"Master." He quickly added, as he continued to follow Louise's orders to the letter.

Louise began to panic now. She hadn't thought this plan through, and now a man was going to see her practically naked. She thought being seen in a nightgown wouldn't bother her, but this was getting a bit too... intimate for her liking. He was unbuttoning her shirt, one button at a time. Perhaps she should call him to stop? But then the whole point of this would be for nothing? She would lose to this... This...

Her thoughts were interrupted as the sound of tearing cloth filled the room. She looked down at her clothes. Her familiars fingers hovered over the third top button of her uniform, the cloth torn and the button missing, rendering that particular fastener useless. Louise's face lit up in triumph.

"Ah ha!" She shouted, batting her familiars fingers away from her and pushing him back. "How dare you damage the noble uniform of the Tristain Magic Academy. You will be punished!"

Louise smirked. And now to assert dominance. This uniform wasn't really anything special. She had dozens more of them in her wardrobe, and could even have this one repaired without much trouble. But he didn't need to know that. Her familiar's face exploded into that of shock, guilt and fear. He could only watch as Louise span around took out a black riding crop from a drawer.

"Kneel dog! Your punishment will be six lashes." She proclaimed, turning around and tapping the crop against her hand in order to instil more fear into her victim.

But her victim did not see this. She looked in surprise at her familiar, who had already turned around, cloak-covered back to her. Louise had expected something. Begging, anger, bribery, fleeing through the window. But not this. Her familiar was patiently waiting for her to dole out her punishment.

"My most sincere apologies Master. I could not control my strength. Please enact any punishment you see fit." He said, kneeling down and beginning to brush aside his cloak with one hand, in order to give Louise a proper target for her whip.

After the initial surprise, Louise's face became red and flustered in anger.

'How dare this Familiar continue torment her! Why hadn't he fought back against her like she had expected? Was he truly just a dog? Did he have no pride as a man? She didn't want just some mindless slave.' Louise's thoughts shouted within her head. 'She would have to whip him into shape. Yes that sounded appropriate. She would whip him and then- Holy Brimnir!"

Louise's eyes widened and she instantly dropped her riding crop at the sight of her familiars back. He had shed his cloak and revealed the pale skin of his back. Skin did not seem the right word for such a tattered and ruinous sight. Barely any of it was visible under the unholy mass of cuts, scars, burns gouges, missing flesh and puncture wounds. Every type of damage Louise could possible imagine there to be to the human body was there and then some. The thin white scars of knives, the crumpled flesh of fire burns, even the scratches of nails. That and more decorated his body, like some twisted corpse used to display anatomy.

Her familiar hesitantly looked over his shoulder at the petrified girl, and a knowing look was in his eyes.

"I'm sorry for my appearance Master, but I'm afraid I cannot do much about it. I hope you can forgive me." He turned back away from her and shifted his stance into a better kneeling position. "I am ready for my punishment, including for that of any addition transgressions I have perpetrated."

Louise stood stock still. She didn't know what to do. She had never been this horrified. That look in her familiars eye told her everything. He had not been playing her. He had not been rebelling. He was simply accepting his circumstance and carried on like it was nothing. He accepted the fact that she was a noble and he, her familiar. He accepted that he would be sleeping, not on a working bed, but on a pile of hay. He accepted that his master wanted to take out petty frustrations upon him for only a minor offense. He allowed all of it to happen because he believed that this was the law of this land. And it had to be obeyed.

Louise threw off the rest of her clothes while he wasn't looking and jumped into her bed. She hid herself under the covers and curled up into a ball.

"Master?" Came a concerned question.

"Just go to sleep! Wake me at dawn!" She screamed through the fabric wrapped around her.

"Yes master."

The sounds of chains moving and rattling around her bed would haunt her for many long sleepless nights to come.

* * *

The sparkling light of dawn had never been such a welcome sight for Louise. She had woken so many times, expecting to hear the clatter of chains and their tight embrace around her neck. But it had all just been her head. In the night she had checked upon her familiar who had remained sleeping on his bed of hay. She did not know whether she feared him fleeing or was just fearful of him, but she was surprised at how still and motionless he slept. She had doubted for a few moments that her familiar even breathed. But that no longer mattered.

Dutifully he had woken her from her slumber just as the sun rose over the horizon, helping her out of bed and then standing motionlessly to the side. Awaiting further orders. Louise was tempted to have him dress her to make up for last night, but she hesitated upon looking at his bound hands again. Instead she simply handed him a basket of dirty clothes and told him to go clean them. Her familiar left the room at her order and began walking the halls of the academy.

After he had disappeared and the clinking noise had become quite enough not to be heard, she let out a breath she had not known she had been holding. What was she doing? Afraid of her own familiar, her mother would give her a lecture if she heard of it. But Louise truly did find her familiar scary. He had done everything she had asked. Not answered back, not failed to obey her. There was just something very wrong about him that Louise couldn't pin down. It was in his scarred face and tortured back. It was in how he walked, a slow weighted gait and how the chains chimed and rang as he did so. It was in that noise they made, that made him that much more terrifying. It was in his sunken eyes, that she could still never pinpoint their colour behind the shadow that constantly hid them. He was like something out of a fairy tale, a dark and twisted fairy tale.

Louise suddenly realised with start, that she didn't even know her familiar's own name.

* * *

Siesta was a hard working maid. She had to be, to have gotten a position at the Tristain Magic academy. She worked for two reasons. To provide for her burgeoning family in Tarbes, and to prove to the headmaster of the academy that she had been worth recruiting. The headmaster was the one noble she respected entirely. He had been kind and even sympathetic towards her, a mere commoner. Not like the students and some of the teachers here. Those nobles she simply tried to stay away from. She had decided to follow the headmasters example and offer help to anyone who needs it, no matter if they were noble, commoner or anything else. That philosophy would be sorely tested today.

She had just been ready to start cleaning a new set of dirty clothes, when she had turned the corner to see a horrific sight. A man, hunched over and unclothed but for a cloak and ragged trousers, was wandering the school grounds. Entire body bound in chains, he had his back to her and didn't seem to notice her presence. But just seeing him caused Siesta to jump back behind her corner out of sight. She peeked back around the corner ever so slowly to see him just standing there, head twisting this way and that, as though he was searching for something. She ducked back swiftly as his head turned to the right, gaze almost resting on her. But she had still gotten a glimpse at his face. That scarring and the pits he had instead of eyes, burned themselves into her memory.

'Had he seen me? Who is this man? A commoner from around the Academy? Was he a thief? An escaped criminal?' Siesta wondered, as she heard the man beginning to walk away, metallic knocking always about him.

Against all other instincts screaming at her to flee, begging to do anything else, Seista decided to follow this stranger. She did this on the sole notion that this man, if he was found by a noble would get punished for trespassing. She moved as silently as she could, the basket of clothes clutched tightly in her hands. She saw his green cloak disappear past another corner and she hurried to catch up. Unfortunately, she underestimated the weight of the clothes in her hands and before she could stop, she had already ran out behind the corner into the middle of the next corridor. And straight in front of the stranger.

Siesta looked straight into the eyes of this chained man and felt as though her life was over. He was facing her, looking at her with no surprise in his features. An intense feeling of inevitable doom washed over her as she looked into the black nothingness of his eyes. She screamed in fright and threw her basket up into the air, clothes scattering everywhere. Siesta stumbled back and slipped landing hard on her backside. She looked up to see a shadow pass over her and she raised her hands to pathetically try to protect herself. But it was unneeded.

"Are you ok?"

Siesta slowly realised that she wasn't dead. The feeling of dread had subsided and she was left feeling severely embarrassed for herself. She opened her eyes to see the same man standing above her. Still covered in chains and still terrifying, but instead of the glaring darkness from his eyes bearing down on her, there was just a sad smile on his face. He was reaching down for with his single free hand.

"I do apologise if my appearance scared you. It is something you must forgive me for my lady." He spoke politely and Siesta blushed at being called such fanciful names.

She took his hand anyway, his grip rough and firm, but not excessively so, and was hoisted up back to her feet.

"What are you doing here? You shouldn't be wandering, if a noble sees you..." Siesta insinuated, the multitude of what felt like infinite methods of punishment a noble could dish out, rushing through her head.

Siesta only now noticed the bundle of clothes tucked under his left arm, held close to his chest. The man's face quickly changed to one of confusion and then fear in realisation of something. He fell to the floor, kneeling so fast, Siesta grimaced as she heard his knee crack against the organised stone brickwork of the Academy.

"Forgive me my lady. I did not mean to enter a forbidden area. I am unfamiliar with this castle's layout and have become lost in it's maze like structure." The bowing man rambled. "I was searching for an area to clean these clothes for my master."

"Your master...?"

Siesta was taken aback by this display. Calling her such a noble title, heeding and fearing her words, bowing to her like a monarch. She briefly felt some vestige of power flow through her. It felt like she had control of this man, and he would do exactly what she said.

'Perhaps this was the feeling all nobles have on ordering a commoner.' Siesta wondered, but she quickly threw off this stupid notion and tried to bring the chained man back to his feet. "No please don't act in such a way. I am only a peasant, there's no need for you to treat me like a superior."

Pulling the man to his feet was harder than it looked. The weight of chains and lean muscle was too heavy for Siesta.

"But you are, my lady." He disagreed, looking up at her. "I am but a familiar. If you are the servant of my master, then you are still my better."

"Then please get up!" Siesta shouted with a mote of panic in her voice. Any second now a real noble would see someone bowing to her and take offence.

Not a second after she had uttered this words, the man rose to his full height again. Siesta was knocked back and would have tumbled to the floor again, if the man hadn't of grabbed hold of her again and righted her.

"Sorry." The man bowed his head again.

"No need to apologise. You said you were a familiar right? You wouldn't happen to be Miss Louise Vallière's familiar would you?"

"Yes I believe that was my Master's name. She ordered me to wash her clothes. I have so far been unable to find a place to do so however."

For the first time since she had encountered this man, Siesta smiled. Things were finally back on track. With work came a focus, and things made sense again.

"Don't worry. There's a fountain nearby which I can wash them. I wash many of the nobles clothes." Siesta explained.

In response the man frowned and shook his head.

"That won't do. Allow me to assist you. It is the least I can do."

"Ok then." Siesta hesitated, but agreed.

The two began picking up the scattered clothes from the floor and depositing them in Siesta's basket. She noticed how despite having only one arm free, the familiar worked twice as fast to keep up with her, gathering and folding clothes effortlessly.

"How are you doing that?" She questioned, and the man only chuckled.

"When you are as restricted as one such as I, you learn to do as many things as possible with one hand."

* * *

Soon Siesta had led him to a nearby fountain, something he had completely missed several times wandering the school. But as they had walked, she saw that the man was memorising the school's layout, staring at anything that could be considered a landmark in the academy's vast halls. They had both started to place dirtied clothes by the fountain and begun to wash them, noble clothes for the maid and Louise's clothes for her familiar. But immediately Siesta had seen a problem with this.

"Wait!" Siesta cried in warning.

The man immediately froze, his right hand half in the fountains water, the first article of clothes the same, flat against the stone edge.

"You shouldn't be cleaning a noble's clothes with dirty hands! Wash them please." She pleaded, seeing the familiar's hands caked in old dirt, grime and a curious red substance she couldn't pinpoint.

Understanding passed through her companion's face and he nodded. However this did not relieve Siesta's worries as she watched him simply dip his hand fully into the water and wave it about.

"No, no, no! You need to thoroughly clean you hands, make sure there's nothing on your hands. Especially make sure you clean in between your fingers." Siesta instructed, remembering a lesson taught to her by her mother back from her childhood.

The familiar remained still for a moment, and his hand shivered and twitched, not knowing what to do.

"I... I can't." He replied, his left chained hand pulling at its restraints to prove his point.

Siesta suddenly realised her mistake and put her hands to her mouth.

"Oh I'm sorry, I forgot- I mean, I didn't mean to offend, I mean-" She started to gibber and spout nonsense.

"It is alright." He interrupted. "I'll see if I can find a cloth or-"

"No! It's my fault for not realising." She replied firmly, before grabbing his hand. "I'll clean it for you."

The man's face widened in surprise and awe at her actions, as she thrust his hand back into the water and began rubbing dirt from his hands herself. He tried to pull his hands back, but after she glared at him, he remained still and silent. It took a while for all of the old muck and blood to be cleaned from his hand, but in that time, he observed this maid's face. She remained focused on her task, not meeting his gaze but noticing his attentions, a blush of red running across his face. Finally she released his hand.

"Are you a saint?" He suddenly asked, as he looked at his now spotless skin, the pale colouration now untouched by the dark of a dungeon.

"Wha- no! Why would I be a saint?" Siesta gasped in both surprise and mirth.

"There is a story that I enjoyed when I was... Young. I barely remember it now, but it was about a man cursed to rot away. He spent his whole life living with the curse, his body turning against him. But one day a holy woman met with him. Despite his protests and the chance of the curse spreading to her, she took the man's hands and she washed them. They parted ways the day after, the holy woman now Saint of Healing, the cursed man now just a man, free to pursue his dreams."

Siesta blinked, the impromptu story suddenly coming to an end. She didn't know how much time had passed, but it had captivated her. But what broke her heart was the look on the story tellers face. It told of having his own curse, his own woes. She shrugged back the tears she didn't even know had been welling in her eyes and stuck out her hand towards the man. He turned to her and raised an eyebrow.

"Nice to meet you. My name is Siesta." She smiled at him.

The man hesitated for a moment but slowly grabbed her hand for a gentle handshake.

"Familiar." He replied.

"That can't be your real name." Siesta frowned.

"That's what I am." He simply said.

"I know, but what do your friends call you? From before you came here?"

He hesitated again.

"My... Former comrades called me Abomination."

"That's horrible!" Siesta cried. "That can't be your real name either!"

"It's what I am." Abomination cryptically replied.

* * *

Louise sighed. Again. Her familiar was weird. He had brought back her laundry all clean just as she had asked for and hadn't said a word since. He just stood outside of her door like a human statue. Waiting for what she assumed were her orders. Luckily that allowed her to dress herself in a new, undamaged student uniform in private, as well as not embarrass herself by letting him see how she struggled to clasp her own cloak.

"Follow me." Louise finally spoke to him as she strode out of her room.

The tell tale clatter of chain links followed her everywhere she went. Down the corridors, down the stairs, all the way to the dining hall. They passed several students who stared at them for a few moments, and then averted their gaze. Louise considered this an improvement to the usual whispers and snide giggles of the past. One particularly fat noble began to speak any one of the numerous monikers she had gathered over her time at the academy, and he raised a finger to point. But that was instantly quashed as Louise heard a large crash of chains behind her and the boy scurried off with a look of pure fear on his face.

Louise turned to her familiar and saw that the noise had been caused by him dropping a large length of loose chain to the ground at his feet, clutched in a tight grip. He bowed his head to her, eyes to the floor. She almost swore that she saw a part of his skin change from crimson to the usual white. But she dismissed the idea. She nodded back her thanks and continued walking. No words were exchanged as they entered the dining hall. No words were spoken as the room went silent and yet more stares were levelled at them. And immediately ignored. Louise chuckled inwardly. Perhaps having such a tall strange and terrifying familiar wasn't such a bad thing. She felt stronger just knowing that her familiar was behind her. The only one not judging her and ready to back her at a moment's notice.

Louise chose an empty table and went to sit. With a but a quick glance behind her, she felt the air displace, a single cold chain link dragging across her arm. Her familiar pulled out her chair and she gratefully took it. But once again, no emotion or speech was exchanged. After pushing in the chair, he remained standing just behind her, off to the side. A couple of servants came round to their table, one holding a dinner platter full of salads, meats and other wondrous treats from the renowned academy chefs. Louise could almost hear her familiar smacking his lips and his eyes widening. The other simply placed a battered old looking plate on the floor, a tough piece of barley bread it's only contents.

There was a moment of pause, where neither Louise nor Familiar moved. Louise dared not eat, as she suddenly realised how this difference in food painfully highlighted the titanic class difference between them. Any person grew jealous knowing that another had more than what they had, but it was a different matter entirely when another's benefits and station was so blatantly shoved in front of their face. This was the moment where her familiar was most likely to revolt against her and Louise had never felt so vulnerable, so small. She could sense her familiar looming over her, his shadow seemingly growing and swallowing her whole. But that all disappeared as she heard her familiar collapse to the floor, chains falling with him, and take a small bite out of his meagre meal. Not a second look was directed at her or her food.

Louise turned slowly to watch him slowly finish that one piece of bread. She turned to her own meal and the guilt began to gnaw at her. Could she really just ignore her familiar? Let him watch as she feasted upon such a delicious bounty of food, while this man was reduced to a dog content with scraps. That piece of bread represented just a mere fraction of what could have been provided to him and Louise knew that. Perhaps if this familiar had been disobedient and rebellious she could have. Ignored his rumbling stomach and watering lips. Turned a blind eye to how much food a human being needed to survive. But consciously knowing that he had done nothing to disobey her? That she would never finish all on her plate? That she could not do.

'Providing for a commoner when she has much to spare is the duty of a noble.' She told herself.

The final crumb of dark bread had just been scrapped from his plate, when three chicken drumsticks landed in its place. Her familiar flinched away from them momentarily before looking up at her, questioning, suspecting a mistake. She didn't look down at him and started on her own, reduced, but plentiful meal.

"Just eat." Louise grumbled, her noble pride and cherished Rule of Steel not allowing any perceived weakness to show.

"Thank you master." Her familiar replied bowing his head and tucking into his replenished meal.

Louise couldn't help but let a small smile pass across her lips. Despite how small the gesture was, she felt like she had done the right thing. Hopefully her familiar would take this gesture and keep out of trouble for his master.

* * *

 ** _Reviews and criticism are welcome._**

 _ **Signed by Imperial Decree**_

 _ **BluePanedGasMask**_


	3. Chapter 3

_**Chains of the Void**_

 _ **As promised, here is the next chapter, the six review quota fulfilled. It contains the promised fight scene as well. Really enjoyed writing this chapter and am more than happy that this story has gotten so much love and feedback. Hope you guys continue to enjoy my story.**_

 _ **Im very glad that many of you like the way I have portrayed Louise and that you consider her to act properly according to her character. I hope that you find I do all of the other characters justice too. But surprisingly I have not actually watched the Familiar of Zero anime, nor read the novel it was based on. I am pretty much basing all of my Familiar of Zero story(s) off other great fanfictions, only briefly watching small parts of the anime to direct the flow of my plot and to confirm certain details.**_

 ** _Anyway, back to the story, what you guys are really here for. Read on and enjoy._**

 _ **Thoughts'**_

 _ **"Speech"**_

 _ **I do not own either Darkest Dungeon or Familiar of Zero. They are each owned by their respective companies. This story is for fun only, no copyright infringements intended.**_

* * *

Her familiar was in trouble. It had not been ten minutes after her Familiar had requested to wander the academy freely again, before she had caught wind from a bunch of gossiping noble students, that Guiche would be dueling a familiar who had insulted him, at Vestri court. Her familiar.

'How had this happened?!' She cursed herself for letting her familiar out of her sight and cursed her familiar for leaving her sight.

She sprinted towards the selected court, intent on ending this charade. If her commoner familiar had insulted a noble then maybe, if he apologised, Guiche would forgive him. Maybe...

* * *

The Vestri court was a large open space, bordered by stone pavement and then by the stone walls of the academy, but most of it was covered in finely cut grass. This was where a large crowd of students were gathering, cloaks waving in the wind as they jostled and shoved for a better position to see the fight. The two supposed fighters stood in the centre of the ring the crowd of students had formed. One, a blonde student by the name of Guiche, top buttons undone and chest slightly exposed to the joy of his adoring fans. The other had no choice but to expose his battered body, for he had nothing to clothe it with. Nothing but a ragged and torn set of a cloak and trousers.

'How had he gotten into this mess?' Abomination sighed

He glanced to the right. His dark eyes seeing through a small gap in the crowd, to the maid Siesta who looked back at him, worry obvious on her face.

'She was why. The first one to care.'

He had lived apart from everyone else his entire life. From strange, silent boy, to disappointing squire, to corrupted man and finally caged demon. This life of his had driven all those close to him away, and his appearance and reputation had made sure that no one ever would get close to him again. But here in this new world, that had changed. The masses still feared him, but there were exceptions. His master had saved him. His naive, childish master with so much pent up anger and hate. But against all that, she had still given him her shelter and her food. He had to admit he felt a certain kinship to his master. A small girl who only wished to prove herself, but just simply lacked the thing to do so. Just like in his youth, while Louise lacked magic, he had lacked both skill and strength.

And the maid, the Saint, in his eyes, was why he was involved as he was now. At first he had thought her an enemy, sneaking and following him. When she had mistakenly revealed herself she had been hit by a full blast of demonic aura. The fear, the hatred, the sheer wrongness of his existence would have perhaps frightened her to near death, if Abomination had not realised his own mistake and helped her back up from the ground she had fallen upon. And despite his actions, whether Siesta knew of them or not, she helped guide him through the academy. She had cleaned his hands of her own volition and she had not once questioned his appearance or how he had got it once. This indebted him to her and that is why he would not allow a threat to her to stand.

Siesta had only been doing her job and had directed a first year student to Guiche's location, while he was entertaining his supposed girlfriend. The resulting backlash from having been dating this first year had stung as well as it should have. Such a fool this boy was. Being caught red handed and blaming his own mistakes on that of a defenceless servant, who had everything to lose. Abomination had interfered, defending Siesta who he considered himself indebted to and was quickly challenged to a duel at Vestri Court. Abomination knew why the noble boy did it. He could see it in his eyes, in his expressions. Guiche wished to regain his lost pride, despite a large portion of his reputation being shattered for two timing. A show of power over someone weaker than him would make people forget his mistake if a big enough spectacle was put on. And a spectacle was what Abomination's interference would provide. Humiliating a servant girl, that was common place amongst nobles. Humiliating another noble's familiar however...

"I'm surprised you have the courage to even show up, commoner familiar."

Abomination only nodded and remained where he was. He could see all other students staring and pointing. Whispers of 'the commoners toast' and 'serves him right for challenging a noble' were commonplace. It was not their words that angered him. It was the looks in their eyes and the barely hidden mirth and laughter.

 **'What are you gonna do about it then? Just take it like a good, little commoner dog?'**

Abomination ignored the voice, but it's whispers didn't hurt any less, or ring any less true. That was exactly what he had to do.

"If you get on your knees and beg for my forgiveness, I might just do so!" Guiche smiled, posing with a red rose over his head.

Abomination assumed the plant was a wand, as all of its thorns seemed to have been stripped away. But at his words the chained man immediately knelt down and tucked himself into a protective ball, arms prostrated towards Guiche.

"I humbly beg for your forgiveness, Lord Guiche." He spoke, much to the surprise of the crowd and Guiche himself. He had expected this strange familiar everyone seemed afraid of to fight back. "Please also forgive Siesta for, what I assure you was, a misunderstanding."

The blonde haired noble put the rose to his chin in contemplation. If he just forgave the familiar now, everyone one would just disperse in disappointment and perhaps remember his two timing. He had arranged this duel as a spectacle for his fellow noble's. Guiche smiled mischievously. And a spectacle was what they would get.

"Ah yes the maid. I was unaware her name was Siesta. I will have to find some sort of suitable punishment for her later." Guiche said absentmindedly.

Abomination gritted his teeth and his hands balled into fists.

 **'Your sorrys are not working, dog. Your debt is going to be left unfulfilled and the maid ravaged by noble attentions.'** The demon tormented him. **'If he's feeling nice of course.'**

"But before all that..." Guiche continued, his wand moving to point at the kneeling familiar. "I'll have to punish you!"

Abomination felt his body become weightless and he was flung into the air. His chains rattled and bounced off his body, bruising and marking his skin as they whipped around, due to some invisible force. He grunted and gasped in pain, Guiche laughed at his despair and the crowd laughed with him. Abomination subconsciously noticed his master, the pink haired Louise, shouting for the duel to stop, trying to push through the crowd.

 **'Now even your master gets to see you fail.'** It laughed, the sound like nails on the chalk board in its occupant's head. **'Such a pitiful disgrace towards the one who saved you and the maid who cared for you. But you know there's a way to change this fight don't you?'**

"I... I don't... Want…" Abomination grunted as he continued to be thrown backwards and forwards across the court.

"Don't want to what, commoner?" Guiche laughed. "Fall?"

The noble pointed his wand to the floor and the chained man fell like a rock, chains impacting the ground and crushing against his bones. A cry of pain filled the court as the man was forced back into the air again. A few nobles faltered in their laughs, the trick seen as a bit too brutal for their tastes. Guiche himself grimaced, but played it off with more laughter. He hadn't meant to drop him that fast, he had wanted to scare him by catching him at the last second. For a moment, Guiche felt like his magical grip on the man was slipping.

 **'All you have to do is ask. All you have to do is give in. And all your worries will be over.'** The voice became soothing and tempting, so honest and kind. **'We can prove ourselves worthy of our master, protect your Saint and defeatmurderkill that fop who, like all the others torments us.'**

"I... Don't... Want... To hurt... Anyone" He replied through the pain.

Abomination felt time slow as he twisted in the air. His vision began to fade, but not enough to hide the laughing, giggling, malicious faces of the nobles.

"I... Don't..."

Their faces twisted into shadows, lips sharp with open grins. Guiche was in the centre of it all, that rose the only red in a sea of blacks and whites.

 **'Soon there will be a lot more red.'**

"Don't want to… Kill you..."

They tormented him, the shadows, they laughed and they mocked. They hurt him with their magic and their wands and their noble pride. The demon offered the only salvation every time. Every time he was maimed. Everytime he was branded. Everytime he was caged, whipped and bloodied, it was not God nor the Light nor the angels that saved him. It was the demon.

"Don't want to... Don't want to... Don't want to..." The one part of his conscience screamed like a mantra, over and over in his head.

But the other parts screamed something else.

"I want to..."

* * *

Old Osmond and Professor Colbert sat in silence around the headmaster's desk. One of the tallest towers in the academy, the headmaster's office was a place of dread for most students. Osmond rarely called students up to his office, but it could be for only one of two things. Either you had committed some offence and were to be punished. Or you were to be expelled. But today, no student graced the office with their presence this time.

"What does it mean?" Professor Colbert asked.

"This is a familiar rune that exists only in legend. Furthermore considering it was the third girl of the Vallière family who summoned him..." Headmaster Osmond started. "I'd venture that this has something to do with the one, lost element of the pentagon."

"It can't be..." Colbert replied in a gasp, gripping his staff in shock.

"Whatever the truth behind this is, you must not-" Osmond started to say, but suddenly had his and the professor's breath stolen away from them, as they felt a huge burst of unnatural energy rush through the room.

"What in Brimir's name is that?" The fire wizard professor exclaimed, after he caught his breath.

Osmond was as shocked as his colleague. He couldn't describe what sort of energy had passed through his office. It felt like magic, but if it was, the nigh impenetrable anti-magic wards surrounding the school shouldn't have allowed it to get through the walls. It felt different. Although the headmaster in all his days had never quite experienced anything like this power, he knew one thing. It felt wrong. Very, _very_ wrong.

* * *

Guiche suddenly felt his levitation spell on Louise's familiar end abruptly and the man fell to the floor. The noble briefly worried that he would kill the familiar if he fell from this height, but he seemed to have righted himself and landed on his feet. The moment the chains crashed to the floor however, the atmosphere in the court changed.

"I want to..." He spoke, his voice echoing and its volume increasing unnaturally.

Everything felt cold, as though the air was forcefully cutting through the nobles clothes. Dread gripped the crowds hearts, why they did not know. But Guiche knew why. He saw the dark energy pouring off of his opponent and he took several steps back. The familiar's skin was rippling, turning red as glowing green veins pushed his skin taunt. The chains surrounding the man rattled and stretched, until in a flash they broke apart, scattering across the grass.

 **"Kill you!"** The familiar screamed, instantly in motion, feet and chains crushing the grass beneath him.

Guiche let out a cry of horror as this mad man charged him. With a wave of his wand and the fastest incantation he had ever cast in his life, three rose petals fell to the floor. In a burst of light three brass golems, Valkyries, appeared in their place, shields and spears held at their side. But no sooner had they rose from the ground, the one closest to Abomination was hit full across its armoured face by a huge length of chain. The Valkyrie stumbled back, the front half of its helm broken and flaking away. The sprinting man roared as he leapt through the air and onto the brass golem, moving too impossibly fast for a mortal man. With both hands now free, he grabbed ahold of the Valkyrie's crumbling helmet and tore it fully open, exposing its earthen exterior.

The student body was surprised enough with the sudden burst of energy and unexpected attack this commoner familiar had launched upon Guiche. But that surprise quickly turned to horror as they saw, heard and felt the same familiar's face contort, snap and twist into new shapes. Hard scaly ridges formed across his nose as the man's face elongated. His teeth shifted and grew into pointed fangs. With an unholy tearing, two black horns pushed themselves out of the Abominations skull and out the back of his head.

But nothing compared to what happened next. With a retching, gargling noise his throat budged and expanded, a torrent of oozing green liquid vomiting up from his mouth. The vile mixture was thrown up directly upon the Valkyrie's face and in moments, it had burnt and dissolved through the things body, leaving the golem a crumpled mess of hissing brass and metal. It collapsed and Abomination fell off it. With the final snaps of grinding bone his transformation was complete.

A monster through and through, a true Abomination that towered over even the brass golems that opposed it. Every noble was petrified into silence as they watched it look around, sniffing at the air. It's skin was now a dark crimson, eldritch green blood pumping through the veins that even now pulsed against its skin. It's clawed hands were mismatched. It's right was constricted still by the manacle and chain that clung to it, but still deadly sharp talons had grown from its fingers. But with the left manacle broken and in pieces across the grass behind it, Abomination's other hand was a bundle of muscle and tendons that exuded demonic power. Long blades of bone, the size of bayonets, were it's nails and as it flexed this hand, bones popped and clicked into place. It's feet were no different, razor tipped, muscle bound and deadly.

The silence lasted perhaps a second more, before the beast sighted Guiche and roared an ungodly wail of noise and hatred. Birds from miles around fled as one and the crowd of students screaming back, as they clutched their ears in pain. The Abomination resumed its loping charge, covering the distance between itself and the noble effortlessly. The remaining two golems intercepted him and formed a small shield wall, spears out. The small tipped blades pierced into the thing's skin, but snapped as they hit strengthened bone. Howling in pain, the monster tore the two Valkyrie's apart, it's huge claws raked through them, metal and earth parting like paper. Guiche froze up in absolute bed wetting fear for perhaps a moment too long before he tried to act. The Abomination was already upon him as he flicked his wand for one last spell.

 _ **"Earth pillar!"**_

Simultaneously, as a spiked shaft of earth exploded from the ground and impaled through the Abomination's side, a razor tipped claw fell upon Guiche's outstretched wand hand. The rose wand, as well as Guiche's entire hand was shredded into a mist of red. Petals, blood, flesh and fingers all.

The blonde noble went pale and screamed in absolute agony, but that became a muffled whimper and the Abomination's other hand clasped around his face. As the noble boy wailed into the beast's hand, the Abomination grimaced to itself as it broke away the jutting piece of earth stabbing through its body and tore the shard back out of it's flesh. Green blood poured momentarily from the hole before, slowly but surely the wound regenerated before everyone's eyes. In an immense display of strength, Guiche was lifted up into the air with the monster's one hand, feet dangling and hand bleeding. Tears pouring down his face and onto the red skin of what had previously been his victim, now turned tormentor. He tried to beg, but his words wouldn't pierce through the ever increasing grip over his head. It seemed that someone else would have to beg for him.

"Stop! Don't kill him!"

Guiche felt the crushing weight stop, but not lighten, as Louise finally pushed her way past the stunned nobles and stood in the open Vestri court. The Abomination's head slowly turned to her, snorting in contempt, it's eyes suddenly gained some form of intelligence.

 **"Why?"**

It's voice was like a dozen, all shouting at once and shocked all present. The gathered noble students had believed that this was just some savage beast, a sort of werewolf from the fairy tales of youth. Even Louise was taken aback, she didn't think her plea would work.

 **"Why should I not kill him? Is this not one of the boys that have been bullying you so hurtfully all your life? What favours has he won from you to deserve such treatment? Why should I not crush his skull into powder and why should I not devour his frail body to sate my hunger! But more importantly, why..."** The Abomination narrowed its still nonexistent eyes at Louise. "Should I listen to you?"

Guiche cried into the beast's hand again as it detailed ways in which he could be killed. Louise shook in terror of this new kind of monster they faced. One that was every bit as intelligent as a human and an untold number of times more cruel. One that seemed to stare into her very soul.

"Because..." She hesitated, her voice quiet and feeble.

'Rule of Steel, Rule of Steel, Rule of Steel.'

Her mother's words gave her strength and her voice grew with confidence.

"Because I am your master!" She shouted. "And you will obey me!"

The Abomination only chucked, it's teeth revealed in a toothy grin.

 **"Master? Of me?!"** It laughed, a guttural rasping sound. **"You may be the master of the Caged One, but you have no sway over me. But what Master are you to even order his pitiful existence?"**

The beast dropped Guiche to the floor and the blonde boy desperately began to crawl away, clutching at his fingerless and broken hand. He was trying to drag himself across the grass towards Louise.

 **"Lectures and insults for a man unknown to this world and it's ways. Whipping for the tearing of a small rip in an easily replaceable shirt, while he could only but one arm. No food for a man who hadn't eaten for days."**

Louise looked down in guilt, but tried to protest nonetheless, falling for the demons trap.

"I did give him food..."

 **"A loaf of black bread and the meat off discarded bones!" The demonic creature laughed all the harder. "Are you going to try to pacifying me with food next? I can tell you that I have more... Refined tastes than three drumsticks."**

It licked the splatters of blood across it's hand, a long tongue slithering between its teeth, lapping up the red liquid.

 **"And if not food then how can you stop me? Perhaps with magic, but perhaps not considering _your_ reputation."** It continued, feet gripping the ground in readiness, claws flexing. Everyone soon realised that it was about to charge straight through Guiche and at Louise. **"Don't think the Caged One and I haven't heard. Louise Françoise Le Blanc de La Vallière. The black sheep. The useless noble. The Zero."**

Louise held her head down in shame at the very mention of that accursed title. Oh how she hated it. Her classmates used it as a mocking joke due to her zero success rate with all magic. Now this malicious demon was utilising the name for it's own painful advantage.

 **"So let's see, how about this. All of you..."** The Abomination glanced around the crowd spotting some of the more prominent mage's in the crowd, before taking up a twisted version of a runner's stance. **"And the Zero try to stop me with magic. With force. If you can stop me from crushing this blonde fop's head and then devouring the pink Zero's tiny little body, I'll submit as your faithful servant. Your trained little dog on a chain."**

Those last words were spat out with such venom, more literal venom dripped from its toothed lip and burnt through the grass below.

Very few mage's drew wands and most took several steps back. The circle widened to reveal, Kirche, the redheaded buxom girl and her quiet blue friend Tabitha with wands out. Montmorency hesitated before also taking a step forwards and drawing her wand. There was even a commotion at the back of the crowd, as Professor Colbert struggled to reach the centre.

 **"Bah! Not a man of courage among you! Either way, ready or not..."** The Abomination growled, before seeing Guiche finally be able to drag himself half way between Louise and itself. **"Here. I. Come!"**

The red demon exploded from the ground, dirt kicking up around him with each pounding step. He had made it halfway to Guiche before any could even fire a spell. But spells did come. Tabitha reacted first, a wave of pressurised wind blocking the beast's path, but it simply slammed into and through the magical barrier by lowering its horned head, airstreams billowing off his wide shoulders. Two bolts of concentrated fire struck next, one landing on either side of his body. Kirche had more time to gather a spell, while Colbert had only just stumbled past the fleeing students. A testament to his skill that he could cast such a spell in so little a moment. But both came to no avail as the Abomination's rage quelled any pain he felt from burning skin and propelled him onwards.

Only a single Mage remained willing and able to cast a spell. Montmorency had frozen in terror when the beast charged, and so it came to be that Louise was the only noble left. Her head was afire with spells she could use. While her practical use of spells was beyond poor, her knowledge of spell theory was beyond exemplary. She knew of dozens of useful spells that had the potential to be extremely helpful in this situation. But she knew that she could use none of them. There was only one thing she could ever consistently accomplish. And so that's what she did.

Her face darkened and contorting with her own feelings of anger and pent up aggression. Louise's hand drew her wand in the blink of an eye, and it was pointed at her target, just as the monster's taloned foot was about to come crashing down on Guiche's screaming head. Time froze there, as she felt magical power build in her body. The sight of her 'hated' rivals fleeing and failing around her, Kirche, Guiche and so many more who had bullied, laughed and mocked Louise, it all served to focus that power and that rage into succeeding. This time she would not just be content with trying another time. This time she would not just ignore their jibes and insults. This time she would not lock away her feelings and keep them bundled up. This time, she would Explode!

"I am not..!" She roared, the immense well of energy peaking and focusing on the point of her want. "A Zero!"

Magic, raw and undiluted shot forth from Louise's wand in a thin beam that impacted against her familiar's chest. Reality and space seemed to distort for a moment, in that second where time stood still. The Abomination's face began to change from malicious grin to confused frown, as he felt himself become weightless again. The monster felt it's chest tighten and twist as a matrix of constantly imploding and exploding invisible energy formed in a ball right in front of him. He felt the little mage's power shake his very bones as it washed over him and he chucked quietly.

 **'Perhaps, he had underestimated the Caged One's master.'** The Abomination mused.

The ball of intense energy finally erupted into a focused explosion of gargantuan proportions. The condensed magic was forced in a direction. The demon's direction, towards the sky. The Abomination's skin was vaporised, but it felt no heat. It's nerve-system may have been fried by the blast, but the Abomination guessed that this explosion wasn't one of fire, but of something else entirely.

As the monster was sent flying through the air and over one of the Magic Academy's walls, it realised that it would have to relinquish its hold over the Caged One's body for now. With the flesh almost gone from his body, reverting back to it's smaller self would mostly heal Abomination's body, and give him time to regain his strength. Just before the demon hit the ground it's body bubbled and shifted, and the chain's enchantment took effect. Metal regenerating around it's body as the cold links tightened around The Abomination, sealing it back into it's mortal prison. The mortal who's master had been able to revert her familiar back to his normal, if not natural, state. In the Abominations last moments it wondered to itself.

 **'Perhaps it would not be so bad, being this little mage's servant as well.'**

The runes on its hand lit up in affirmation.

* * *

 _ **Side note: The name 'Abomination' refers to the human familiar of Louise. 'The Abomination' refers to the demon form of Louise's familiar. Wrap that round your heads.**_

 ** _Reviews and criticism are welcome._**

 _ **Signed by Imperial Decree**_

 _ **BluePanedGasMask**_


	4. Chapter 4

_**Chains of the Void**_

 _ **'Thoughts'**_

 _ **"Speech"**_

 _ **I do not own either Darkest Dungeon or Familiar of Zero. They are each owned by their respective companies. This story is for fun only, no copyright infringements intended.**_

* * *

The entire academy had been in an uproar and the rumour mill was in full swing. Some said that Guiche had challenged Louise's familiar and been beaten badly. But others, the ones with more noble pride, claimed that Guiche was attacked by Louise's rabid Familiar and had been defending himself from a unholy demon, losing a hand for his troubles. This story, unfortunately had some truth to it and the majority of the Academy's Noble staff believed it. The grounds were on lockdown, all students being made to return to their rooms until the crisis had been resolved.

Old Osmund, despite doubting the integrity and bias of these rumour, couldn't deny the words from Professor Colbert's mouth, a Mage who he trusted beyond a shadow of a doubt. He had requested aid via magic communication and sent a report to the capital. Despite being in the middle of nowhere, the academy did receive immediate help, in the form of a garrison of soldiers and guards from Count Mott's estate. Although knowing full well Mott did not do this out of kindness, the headmaster accepted the aid anyway. Taking until the next day to assemble, the troops were organised into squads. With at least one mage per squad, taken from either teacher volunteers or some of the noble knights Mott had provided, they were tasked with scouring outside the Academy walls for this creature. As the sun began to set, these search parties set off, their objective was to either drive the demon away, or to destroy it completely.

All the while the students of Tristain Magic Academy waited and whispered, obeying the call to stay in their rooms. One girl had grown, perhaps, a too intimate picture of the escaped familiar, having seen the power and skill during its duel with Guiche. She giggled at the thought of a devilishly handsome demon sneaking into her room at night. Another talked the day away with her familiar, the dragon too big to fit in her room, but tall enough to reach the young girl's window. If any were close enough to hear, they might have even heard the dragon talking back. Other students either shivered in fear, having seen the horrifying transformation for themselves, gripping wands and staffs tightly as they slept. Or tried to sleep. Those who had not witnessed the duel wondered if they would have a chance to catch this devil that had defeated Guiche. If they were able to beat it then their reputation would surely skyrocket. The wounded boy himself was unconscious in the Academy's medical wing, water mage's having retrieved his fingers and fused the severed limb back in place. It would take days, maybe even weeks for him to recover, all the while having a bandage over his wand hand.

But two within the Academy disobeyed the curfew. One a servant the other a noble, they snuck past the reduced staff within the building, neither knowing about the other. They both headed out towards the more forested area outside the Academy's walls, where they knew Louise's familiar would be.

* * *

The forest had always looked so peaceful and serene when she looked at it from the Academy. The darker green of its trees against the backdrop of grass surrounding the forest, birds flying past with the sun setting in the background. But now, as the sun set, all Siesta could see was blackness. Branches became grasping hands, snagging and ripping her dress. Every creature's glowing eyes became a stalking predator that watched her every move. The peasant maid had never really left the safety of her home of Tarbes or the walls of the Academy. She had no experience with the terrors of the night and she was afraid. So very afraid of everything. But she pushed herself forward nonetheless, every branch snapping at her feet causing her to flinch and glance around, like any noise would awaken a sleeping beast of the forest. A ragged and torn cloak was bundled in her arms, the only thing comforting her, it's green fabric clutched tightly to her breast.

* * *

Not a dozen metres away, Louise almost screamed as a twig snapped behind tree-cast shadows. She was so very afraid. Afraid of everything here. But she raised her wand anyway, her hand shaking, and continued to walk anyway. The only thing she could see, her only guidance was the broken branches, torn from their trees above her. Her familiar had torn through them like it was nothing , leaving a trail of destruction where he had passed. Moonlight had started to shine in the sky, as she moved cautiously slowly onwards. To the noble girl it felt like she had been searching for hours. It had been a stroke of luck that the search parties had limited themselves to the edge of the forest for fear of beasts in the darkness.

'Cowards.' She thought. 'A disgrace to all nobles.'

About a dozen metres more and Louise stumbled into some sort of clearing. Her eyes widened as she almost fell over a tree stump. It had been freshly made, splinters of wood scattered everywhere and the titanic tree itself collapsed along the forest floor. The Abomination had crashed straight through it.

'Had she done all of this? With a single spell?' The young noble girl wondered.

The wind whistled through the trees, converging on the clearing. Louise shivered and looked up. Clouds parted to allow the sickly light of the moon to cast pale rays into the clearings. And that's when she saw him. Slumped against another tree, a trench of upturned earth leading up to him, her familiar was on his knees. His arms were suspended above his head by the same chains that wrapped around his body. Her familiar hadn't noticed her, his head lifelessly staring at the ground.

'What?! How had more chains appeared? He broke them in the Vestri court didn't he?' Louise thought back to his fight with Guiche.

The chains seemed to have reappeared and bound him again, only this time even more chains now wrapped around his body. The manacles around his wrists now produced a huge length of chain links, wrapping around his arms and the shooting off into the forest. Louise could trace them across the clearing to see them wrapping around the mighty oaks of the forest. His leg manacles were the same, bound and the chains attached burrowed into the ground like roots, their end nowhere in sight. Moonlight shined of each chain, their metal now clean and untainted by rust and ash.

Louise approached tentatively, each step she expected him to notice her. But all she got was silence.

"Familiar?" She tried.

No reaction. She reached out towards him, calling for her familiar again, but the moment her fingers brushed against his shoulder, his head shot up and stared into her eyes.

"Leave me alone!" He roared, straining at his chains, rattling and creaking. "Get away!"

Louise jumped back in surprise and fear gripped her heart as a strange dark power enveloped her. She stared at her familiar, into the abyss of his eyes. And the abyss stared back. His expression was nothing like she had seen it before. It wasn't the docile look of obedience, averting eye contact whenever possible. Her familiar stared straight at her, feral rage and sadness in equal measure. Madness and whispers filled her ears.

"Flee!" One of the voices screamed and shouted for her to run from this place, from her familiar.

That she was afraid and would be torn apart and eaten if she stayed.

"Run!" The other voice pleaded, begged her to leave.

For sake of her familiar, for the sake of herself, for the sake of everyone. Leave her familiar be, let him be forgotten and let him rot here.

The voices got louder. And louder and louder, and louder, until Louise thought she would go insane. But she wouldn't do as the voices said. She wouldn't run, she was a Noble, a Vallerie. She would never back down. The pain increased ten fold at her disobedience, her eyes teared up and blood began leaking from her nose as her brain screamed as such unnatural voices bounced round her mind. But finally as the noise came to a crescendo, and Louise felt her head would explode, her mother mantra cut through the noise.

'Rule of Steel. Rule of Steel. Rule of Steel.'

"No!" Louise shouted back at him, fists clenched in determination. "I will not be afraid!"

That force of will banished the darkness from her mind and her familiar slumped back down, chains growing lax around him. Chilled breath crystallised in front of her face as she panted from mental exhaustion. She once again noticed the temperature and shivered. Abomination did not seem to flinch for a second, despite the only thing covering his body being a ragged set of trousers and icy chains.

"Why..." He started to say, his voice hoarse and hesitant. "Why don't you run? Why are you here?"

"You're my familiar." Louise replied after a moment's pause. "It is my responsibility as a noble. Let's get you out of those chains."

The metal links rattled as Louise approached and tried to tug away at said familiar's restraints. Abomination turned his head slightly to glance at her, hidden eyes flashing in the moonlight.

"That's not the whole truth is it though?" He said, more as a statement than a question.

"W-what do you mean? Of course it's the truth!" His master exclaimed back, still failing to release her servant. "How do I get these blasted chains off of you?!"

"Only I can voluntarily release myself from this imprisonment." He replied absentmindedly, but continued to follow his own train of thought. "Any other noble would have perhaps abandoned such a cursed familiar, one who has caused it's master such trouble. But you have not. You crave something. Need it more than anything else, need it so much that all other concerns are secondary."

"That's not true..." She mumbled back.

"What is it that you seek that I can give you? It is not a servant, that is just the roles you noble's play, keeping up appearances." Abomination tilted his head to get a better look at the twisting emotions playing across Louise's face, as she tried in vain to free him. "You consider yourself a Mage, yet you use just your hands and your mind in everything you do. With enough magic you could probably free me, but you rely only on flesh and indefatigable purpose to push through any circumstance. So what is it that you seek? I can see it in your eyes. You want not for power, nor wealth, nor knowledge. What do you seek that is so important to you?"

"Shut up! I am your master and I order you to shut up!" Louise roared at him, clawing at the chains around her familiar.

Abomination immediately silenced himself, content to hang there as Louise pulled at his prison. Tears had welled in her eyes and she let out a groan of frustration as she wiped her face. There was silence for a time as she retired momentarily from the task of releasing her familiar.

"Why are you wrapped in those chains?" Louise finally asked.

"They keep the demon trapped within me." He instantly replied to her question.

"The thing that you transformed into? That was a demon? How did it escape?"

"I let it escape." He said, slight hesitation in his voice.

"What?" Louise exclaimed. "Why?"

Abomination hung his head in shame.

"I did not want to set it loose. But it is... Persistent. It is constantly straining at its bonds, pounding against my mind. Twisting and corrupting my thoughts, until I finally give in to the temptation. After days, weeks, even months it whispers into my head, until all I can ever think is to give in. The next time I wake always covered in blood, with a foul indescribably taste in my mouth." He shook his right arm to hear the rattle of chains. "And always these chains return to me."

Another pause. Louise had given up trying to pull Abomination free.

"What is your name, familiar?" She suddenly asked.

"I no longer remember. Abomination is all I have ever been known by for such a long, long time. Familiar, most recently can be my name."

"You must remember your name! What kind of idiot forgets?"

Her familiar turned his head to her, a sad and knowing look on his face.

"An idiot who has seen too much..." He cryptically replied. "Perhaps only the demon knows my old name now."

"Then I want to see him!"

Her familiar froze, not even his chains breaking the deafening silence.

"What."

"I want to see him! He swore he would submit to me if I..." Louise remembered back to that time in the Vestri Court, to how Kirche and Tabitha came to her aid. "If we, were able to stop him."

"He will most likely try to kill you." Abomination stated. "Demon's are never the most honest of beings."

"Then I will just blast him back again if I have too!" Louise shouted at him, stubborn determination building within her. "I order you to show him to me!"

"Very well."

* * *

The wind suddenly seemed to stop flowing and grow stale. Everything seemed to stop and freeze, as Abomination's face began to twitch, skin and muscles bulging and resetting. The binding chain links did not explode off his body as they had last time. They simply slipped to the floor in a heap. Louise pouted as he looked at her, face pretty much the same as before. Her familiar's pale skin darkened with a slight red hue, but strangely he remained mostly the same.

"I ordered you Familiar! You can't trick me with another illusion."

 **"Oh, but this isn't an illusion, dear Vallière."** The Abomination chuckled darkly, grinning a devilish smile, revealing a set of shining razor teeth.

Each and every one was an incisor, pointed and sharp, his mouth stretching around them oddly. The thing clenched it's fists, and hidden muscles bulged, green veins pulsing against reddened skin. Louise's eyes widened as these changes faded back to her familiar's normal appearance, minus the chains wrapping around his body.

"What are you?"

The Abomination smile widened even further, it's teeth cutting into it's own lip.

 **"An immaterial being. A eldritch creation. In short, a demon. A very powerful demon I'll have you know."**

"And you're the thing inside my familiar?"

 **"Aye."** It sneered slightly at those words. **"But you may consider me your familiar as well. I'm a demon of my word."**

"Your willingly submitting to me?" Louise questioned, this seemed too good to be true.

 **"Of course! You beat me fair and square. Although don't expect me to be your servant. That task will be delegated to the Caged One. Think of me as your attack dog. Order the Caged One to release me, and I shall slaughter in your name."** The demon stated, licking its long inhuman tongue across its teeth bloodthirstily.

"Why do you torment him so? Why are you even trapped in the first place?"

 **"It's awfully boring trapped in a mortal's body."** It shrugged at her. **"He never lets me feed, never lets me enjoy the pleasures of a mortal body, never lets me feel... Alive! I must constantly rattle my cage for the slightest hope of release and even then the Caged one must be pushed from the outside. A role your blonde friend played beautifully."**

The Abomination stretched his arms out and rolled his neck with audible cracks.

 **"But as for why I was trapped, I shall leave that for the Caged One to tell you. It will be enjoyable watching him squirm around that particular revelation."** The demon-possessed man began striding in a direction, much to Louise's surprise. **"But now I have some time in the pilot's seat, I shall enjoy it while I can. Come, we shall converse in our stride."**

"But what about the veritable army looking for you?" Louise questioned as she struggled to keep up with him. "How will we return to the academy unharmed?"

 **"You're the noble, Vallière."** It grinned. **"I'm sure you'll figure something out."**

Louise gasped indignantly and was about to retort, when the sound of crashing echoed out from the bushes beside them. A cry of fear was soon followed by a terrified maid collapsing in front of them.

"Siesta?" Louise gasped, confounded.

 **"Ah. The Maid-Saint. Interesting."**

The frightened girl scrambled to her feet immediately and ran towards them. Mud clung to her legs and around the hem of her dress. Her usually immaculate serving outfit was torn to pieces, revealing a number of claw marks and toothy bites that weeped red lifeblood. Siesta's hands too were bloodied, nails cracked and flaring in pain.

"Lady Louise, Mr Familiar! Please-" Siesta whimpered before a loud howl cut though all other noise in the forest.

A huge furred figure leapt from the shadows onto Siesta's back, sending her crushing back down onto the gnarled and root-strewn floor. Louise could only freeze, petrified, as the wolf growled and sunk its mangy teeth into the maid's soft flesh. The helpless girl let out a scream of utter agony. The Abomination was already in motion, charging forwards at the wolf, but not before it had taken a large chunk out of the girl's shoulder, blood exploding through the air. Almost in slow motion, in the few moments before the Abomination collided bodily with the wolf, a snakelike tongue flicked out tasting a single drop of hovering crimson.

 **'Mhmmm... Virgin.'** The demon sighed contently.

With a crunch, the two beasts crashed into one another, one in human form, the other a natural four legged predator. With a sick tearing of flesh, the wolf was wrenched off Siesta and catapulted several feet back. The girl whimpered below the demon, but it paid the bleeding maid no mind. It had other prey to hunt. The wolf, tumbled as it landed but quickly righted itself. It growled back at its contender and raised its heckles. The Abomination showed his own teeth and roared back at the beast. The wolf seemed to be already wounded. It's left eye had been clawed at and blinded, a commendable effort from such innocent maid to escape its previous clutches.

Earth shifted and kicked up around them as both, beast and man ran at one another. The Abomination darted to the side, into the wolf's left blind spot, and then impacted shoulder first into its flank. The wolf flipped onto its back and the Abomination tumbled with it. Claws dug into the demon's skin, drawing blood. The furred animal ended atop the demon, it's snapping jaws inches from it's human face, held back by a arm pressed against the wolf's throat. The Abomination punched at it's head, but before he could reel back for another strike, the wolf's head turned and bit down on the demon's arm, green blood running down his skin.

 **"You want to bite me?"** The demon roared. **"I'll bite you back!"**

The Abomination's mouth elongated into a jaw of snapping razor teeth, as it dragged the wolf closer. The beast whimpered as it quickly realised that it had, both literally and figuratively, bitten off more than it could chew. The wolf's head was engulfed in the Abominations jaws and was systematically crushed into paste. This was soon followed by its neck, then it's shoulders and then it's arms.

Louise had been trying to staunch Seista's bleeding while her familiar held off the wolf. But she froze once again as she heard a unholy crunching, tearing and snapping noises behind her. Silence quickly dominated the forest once again after she heard her familiar let out a relieved sigh. Louise turned around to see her familiar approaching, fur covering his bare chest and blood running down his chin. She couldn't see the wolf. She tried to ignore the implications and turned back to Siesta. The maid was breathing rapidly, mumbling things hysterically. There was so much blood. Too much blood.

 **"Why are you here, little maid?"** The demon kneeled down beside them, turning her head to look at him with a red soaked hand.

Siesta blinked at The Abomination before smiling childishly as though she had just recognised a old friend. She rummaged around at her side and pulled out a dark green bundle of cloth. It was Abominations cloak, the one he had left in Vestri Court. Siesta had collected it and washed it for him.

"Yours..." Siesta whispered, her voice strained and hoarse.

The demon hesitated for a moment, but took the cloak anyway and threw the familiar fabric over it's shoulder.

 **"I will thank you on the Caged Ones behalf. I'm sure he would appreciate the gesture."**

The maid suddenly frowned at that statement, but sighed nonetheless, looking contented. A sudden episode of coughing brought that expression back to pain, as she almost drowned in her own blood.

'Save her!'

The Abomination's ears pricked at the sudden noise, but it knew no one else could here him. Hear the Caged One shouting in his mind.

'Save her!'

 **'Why should I?"** The demon shrugged his shoulders. **"I have no connection to this girl. This peasant."**

'Save her! Save her any way you choose!' Desperation crept into that echoing ethereal voice.

 **'Interesting. Very well.'** The demon smiled. **'On your head be the consequences.'**

The demon grabbed Siesta by the shoulders and lifted her up until she was leaning against it.

 **"Maid Siesta. What a lucky girl you are. It seems you have a second chance at life, courtesy of the Caged One."** The Abomination looked into Siesta's fading eyes, grabbing her full attention. **"But if you want to live, you must first choose to live."**

The maid seemed to nod slightly, acknowledging the words.

 **"Your next life will not be simple. It will never be the same as it once was. But it is life and it can and will be whatever fate chooses it to be. It may be full of contentment or it may be full of sorrow, but it will be your life eternally, for better or worse. You are unlikely to enjoy what comes next."**

"Will..." Siesta choked through the blood filling her throat. "Will it hurt?"

The Abomination only smiled at her.

 **"Oh absolutely. Pain like nothing you could ever imagine. Torment that would drive lessers mad and agony that makes even the most unholy of beings shiver."**

Siesta hesitated for a moment. Just a moment, before the Abomination spoke again.

 **"Your alternative is dying now. And I hope you don't mind, but I will be eating your corpse while it is warm. No hard feelings."**

Siesta no longer hesitated.

"Do it... Please."

* * *

The Abomination dug clawed fingers into the puncture wounds in it's hand, previously made by the wolf. Wounds ripped open, it clenched the hand into a fist, green glowing blood flowing down it's skin and into Siesta's prized open mouth.

 **"All of it. Do not stop."** The demon instructed, lowering the hand until the maid was suckling off his wounds.

At first Siesta obeyed. She drank. And drank and drank. The liquid burned down her throat and soon she began to choke. Her throat was on fire! Her body was afire! Everything within her burned in revulsion at such a unnatural liquid flowing round her body. On instinct she tried to throw it back up. For a moment she stopped drinking.

 **"All of it!"** The demon shouted at her, slapping her across the face with it's other hand.

Siesta continued to drink, instincts flattened by the sheer need to survive. To live!

 **"Louise! Please approach."** It said, beckoning his new master forwards, grasping her hand.

"What are you doing to... Ow!" Louise gasped in pain as sharp teeth bit down on her wrist.

Switching it's hand for Louise's wrist, the Abomination ordered Siesta to drink again. Red blood took the eldritch green's place and Siesta drank heavily. This was a different experience. This new liquid was the firsts opposite. It soothed her pains as it passed through her throat, silken and smooth. And it's taste... Oh it's taste!

 **"Stop drinking!"**

Siesta suddenly snapped back to reality and released her hold of Louise. She hadn't realised The Abomination had been calling for her and that she had hold of Louise with both hands.

"Oh I'm so sorry Lady Louise! Please forgive..." Siesta started, but suddenly realised she could speak properly.

She no longer felt any pain from her wounds and looking down her eyes bulged as she saw her skin spotless as the day she was born. Around her, she saw Louise looking slightly pale, wrapping a bandage tightly around her wrist. The Abomination stared at her, with arms crossed. She stared back, sheer relief and admiration in her eyes.

"Thank you! Thank you so much!" Siesta shouted, jumping at him and embracing him.

The demon simply sighed and pulled her away, holding her at arm's length.

 **"Don't thank me yet."** The demon chuckled. **"It's only just begun."**

No sooner had those words been said, that her blood began to bubble. The unholy concoction of eldritch and noble blood mixed within her system, shaping and changing everything it touched. Siesta instantly screamed as she felt every bone in her body break. She screamed louder as they reset into new positions. And then they broke all over again. She collapsed under the pain as everything in her body revolted against her, organs pulping and tendons snapping. Muscle wasted away or bulged until they exploded. Breaking and mending over and over again, in a continuous cycle of relentless torture.

Lousie couldn't look away, as Siesta writhed on the floor madly. Blood wept from her eyes and frothing saliva at her mouth, madness consuming her mind only for her to be granted sanity again.

"How long will this last?" She whispered, too scared to speak any louder.

 **"Perhaps an hour. Perhaps two."**

"And then what? We go back to academy? How can we explain all this?"

The Abomination grinned at her once again. His face always split by a sadistic, inhuman smile.

 **"And then."** It spoke slowly, approaching Siesta. **"When she stop squirming..."**

She looked right at him, somehow hearing the demons voice despite the torment. The Abomination bit into his hand again and held it out above Siesta. A single green drop landed on her mouth. She instinctively licked her lips and regretted it.

 **"Then we do this all over again. Feeding her blood for, perhaps a day."** The Abomination cackled as he saw realisation hit Siesta's face. **"Or perhaps days? Or weeks or month or a year? I never can quite tell with these things."**

Siesta screamed once again, as the demon wrenched open her mouth, allowing more demonic blood to drain down her throat, laughter ringing in her ears.

* * *

Hours later.

"...HEBLOODTHEBLOODTHEBLOODTHEBLOODIMUSTHAVETHEBLOODTHEBLOODTHEBLOODTHEBLOODTHEBLOODIMUSTHAVET..."

* * *

 **...HEBLOODTHEBLOODTHEBLOODTHEBLOODIMUSTHAVETHEBLOODTHEBLOODTHEBLOODTHEBLOODTHEBLOODIMUSTHAVETHEBLOODTHEBLOODTHEBLOODTHEBLOODIMUSTHAVETHEBLOODTHEBLOODTHEBLOODTHEBLOODTHEBLOODIMUSTHAVETHEBLOODTHEBLOODTHEBLOODTHEBLOODIMUSTHAVETHEBLOODTHEBLOODTHEBLOODTHEBLOODTHEBLOODIMUSTHAVETHEBLOODTHEBLOODTHEBLOODTHEBLOODIMUSTHAVETHEBLOODTHEBLOODTHEBLOODTHEBLOODTHEBLOODIMUSTHAVET..!**

 ** _Reviews and criticism are welcome._**

 _ **Signed by Imperial Decree**_

 _ **BluePanedGasMask**_


End file.
